JoukaiChan
by Kyuukudo
Summary: Naruto returns after two and a half years to the leaf, stronger and a better shinobi than before. Will he fulfill his promise? Or will Sasuke be forever lost to the darkness? Naru/Saku, Lemons in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

Joukai-Chan, a Naruto fanfiction

By Kyuukudo Sennin, the Sage of the Nine Paths

Authors Note: Thank you all for reading my story.!.

~ Story Begin~

The pink-haired kunoichi was lying in bed, eyes staring up at her ceiling. She turned her head over to the photograph, delicately framed and poised on her nightstand. It was her team. Team Seven. It seemed so long ago, and times seemed so easy for them back then, compared to what she went through now. Training was tough, and sparring with Lady Tsunade was intense. But it was worse emotionally. Her heart yearned for a certain shinobi in the picture. She gazed at him. The deep blue's on his shirt. The way his hair stood up when he had his headband on.

_Naruto_…. She said to herself. When had she come to love the orange-clad knucklehead? After she had done some deep soul searching. She had been called out, by a woman of fifty no doubt. She closed her eyes and recalled that day.

"_Sakura!"_

_The medic-in-training jolted awake at the sound of Tsunade's voice. She looked up sheepishly. "Y-yes, Tsunade-sama?" The hokage growled. "You were day dreaming while I was talking with you about your chakra control exercise!" Sakura looked away blushing. "S-sorry, sensei." Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. "What were you day dreaming about this time, huh?!" Sakura looked ashamed. "S-sasuke-kun." Tsunade sighed._

"_What do you like about him?"_

_Sakura perked up. "He's gorgeous, and a genius, and-"_

"_And a traitor." The hokage supplied. Sakura looked away. Tsunade continued. "What about Naruto?" Sakura shrugged. "He's fine. His immature, loud-mouthed, annoying-" Tsunade rose a hand. "Both of your teammates cared for you during your missions together. Who still does? Naruto or Sasuke?" Sakura was ashamed, but her voice had left her. She could only shake her head weakly. This was a question she couldn't answer. She couldn't bring herself to respond. Tsunade sighed. "You like the mature one…. When the strong, silent type betrayed you. You think the loud one's a pest… when he would do anything to protect you. I was once…" Sakura looked up at her, curious. "The exact same way, Sakura. I chose the strong, silent type… and he betrayed me. Then he returned and tried to destroy the entire village. Think about that, Sakura. Think about how you've treated Naruto."_

Sakura hated it when Tsunade was right. She sighed and closed her eyes, her favorite blonde ninja appearing before her. She wondered how much taller he'd gotten, how much muscle he'd grown. She closed her eyes and dreamed of him, as a tall man, his wide grin making her feel like he would always be there. She dreamed that he was returning home after a battle, sweaty, his shirt in tatters, revealing his toned chest. Her cheeks burned a bright red as her breathing started to grow heavy.

She dreamed he was swimming, his gorgeous blond hair dripping over his eyes in a very sexy way. She let out a small, almost inaudible moan as her hand slipped between her legs.

The sound of metal hitting metal tore through the forest, scaring off wild animals and travelers. The blonde shinobi slid backward on the water. His cerulean eyes met his master's onyx ones. He gritted his teeth and threw another kunai. "Take this, Ero Sennin!" Jiraiya responded with gusto. "Ninpou: Needle Jizou!" His wild silver hair became a shell of needles, blocking Naruto's kunai. This was what Naruto wanted, because it blocked Jiraiya's line of sight for a quick second. "Fuuton: Reppushou! Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm!" He shoved his hand towards Jiraiya's position and a huge burst of wind shot towards the Toad Sage. Jiraiya's eyes were wide as he remembered a former student of his performing that exact technique.

Jiraiya wasn't prepared for what happened next.

A giant wave was pushed up against him, blocking his view. He heard the familiar sound of spiraling chakra and smirked. "Nice try, Naruto!" He performed the Rasengan, smashing it through the wave and blocking Naruto's Rasengan, only to meet a puf of smoke. _Kagebunshin?! _ "Leaf Village Secret Finger Technique!" His eyes widened as he tried to spin around. Too little too late. "A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!" He poked the Tiger handseal into Jiraiya's behind, causing the perverted ninja to go flying towards the shore, his rear end smoking. Naruto roared with laughter, which died as the Jiraiya on the shore turned into a puff of smoke. Two hands reached up from the water and pulled him under, before a barrage of fists met Naruto's chest and stomach, before he was yanked out of the water upside down, hanging from Jiraiya's grip by his ankle. He smirked at Jiraiya, who smirked back.

"Reppushou and the Thousand Years of Death? Were you reading my jutsu scrolls again, Naruto?" The blond shinobi grinned as he nodded. "Reppushou was easy, ever since youtold me my element, sensei." His eyes flashed. "Fuuton: Reppushou!" He blazed through the seals with the efficiency Jiraiya had only seen in Jounin. A huge burst of wind blasted Jiraiya backward, where he was caught by a Naruto clone. "Na!" The clone kicked him into the air. Another clone was leaping toward him, and kicked him in the stomach back down to the water. "Ru!" A third clone grabbed his ankle and swung him, throwing him back into the air. "To!" Five clones leaped up to him, performing a flip and then drop kick on his hea,d sending him plummeting into the water. "Dai Uzumaki Rendan! Great Spiraling Barrage!" Jiraiya bounced off the water, running towards the forest. Naruto smirked. And followed, performing a jutsu he had been working on for a while, trying to gain the speed he would need to fulfill his promise. He performed the shunshin, the body flicker technique, disappearing in a quick burst. He reappeared next to Jiraiya, hopping up and kicking the ninja in the face as he was caught off guard. Jiraiya turned into a puff of smoke and Naruto landed in something soft and gross. He looked down. "Shit!" He was caught in the Dark Swamp technique. Jiraiya landed next to him. "Oh ho, and you can use Shunshin. Impressive. Alright, you pass today's exercise." He performed a seal and the swamp was gone. Naruto grinned to Jiraiya. "So! When do we eat?" Jiraiya sweat dropped. "I guess training wiped you, huh? Alright, let's go get some-"

"Ramen!" Jiraiya sighed. "Fine. Ramen."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Ah, I love reviews!

GODHAND Gene, thanks for your, review it made me laugh. You actually predicted the kind of Naruto I wanted in this story. I will be making him stronger, more intelligent, and less loud-mouthed. I will also be changing the personality of Sasuke to make him less hated. But hopefully I can make Naruto badass but still friendly. We don't need two Sasuke's running around!

Animaman, thank you, I hope you continue to read.

Holymarine, thank you I hope you enjoy the latest addition.

Kaiton, I am glad you read, and I hope this was soon enough for you!

Witchizard, the wait is over, here's more!

Anyone else, I forgot you, I'm sorry, my e-mail wouldn't refresh! Thank you for reading my story and reviewing!

~ Chapter 2 ~

Running his fingers through his blonde hair, one could easily tell Naruto was annoyed with his sensei.

He was supposed to be training, learning a new fuuton(wind element) jutsu. He remembered being ecstatic about learning an element that defeated Sasuke's chidori. He knew it would help him out with his promise to Sakura, and it would surely help him on his path to becoming Hokage. But then, reality set in. He wouldn't be able to learn many new wind techniques if Jiraiya was always conducting his pathetic "research." Well, Jiraiya being gone did serve one purpose.

It gave him the opportunity to hone his newest jutsu, and this one was a bitch to master.

He had come across it while borrowing fox chakra.

"_Hiyaaaaahhhh!"_

_He focused the fox's chakra, trying to recreate the Rasengan he used against Sasuke two years ago. It was formed from the fox's chakra, and held a gigantic amount of power behind it. The only problem was he couldn't gather the chakra without the Kyuubi interfering. Once again, a deep, ominous laugh filled his head as he tried to draw an excessive amount of chakra. He lowered his hands, dropping the hitsuji(ram) seal._

"_Damn, I still can't fully… whoa, where the hell am I?" When he rose his eyes he was in a burning field. Before him stood none other than the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He gave a deep, rumbling chuckle, as Naruto glared up at him. "So Kyuubi, you wanna tell me where I am or are you just gonna keep chuckling?" The large fox looked ta him for a minute and lowered his face to Naruto's, his individual teeth a foot larger than Naruto himself._

"_**This is my realm. Kitsune have the ability to create a realm outside of the world. It resides within me, and I have taken you to it.**__" Naruto looked around. "Yeah, uhm… why, exactly?" The fox rose his head, looking down at the blonde shinobi. "__**Because you need training. I'm not giving you large amounts of my chakra so easily, kit, you should know that. But… how would you like to use my brethren as weapons?**__" Naruto rose an eyebrow. "What's the catch?" The fox roared with laughter._

"_**Gone are the days when the foolish, young version of you could be fooled into gaining power and a new jutsu with just a few words. No, Naruto, there is no catch. You won't stop pestering me for chakra, so I decided to grant you a new power, so you can leave me well enough alone unless there is a dire need for my intervention.**__" Naruto shrugged. "Alright, fox, let's see this power you have for me." The kyuubi nodded. "__**Well, Naruto, I don't want you turning into some demon, then you might get stronger than me and I can't have that. What I will do, however, is grant you a special version of your little summoning parlor trick.**__"_

_A scroll appeared before Naruto. It was twice his size in height and was blood red. The top of it was a fox's head, and the head was made of gold. Naruto looked up at the scroll impassively. "So… what, I sign or something? Could you open it up for me?" The fox growled low. "__**You're lucky I can't attack when you're in this realm, kit.**__" The scroll fell next to Naruto and opened, revealing its contents. Naruto looked up at the Kyuubi. "What's gonna happen to the toad contract when I sign this one?" "__**Your name will leave the Toad Contract**__." Naruto shrugged and bit his thumb, signing his name on the scroll._

_He opened his eyes and was back at his camp sight. It was night time. "Ah, you're awake." He sat up, seeing Jiraiya. "So. Why's your name gone from the Toad Contract?"_

Jiraiya hadn't been as mad as Naruto thought he would be, especially since he was in the wrong for leaving him behind to go peep at women, but he warned Naruto to not make any more deals with the Kyuubi without supervision, he didn't want to, as Jiraiya so elegantly put it, "Fuck around and end up releasing the Kyuubi. Naruto was mad that he thought he was stupid enough to do that, but Jiraiya had the grounds to make that claim. After all, he was a pretty stupid kid when he was twelve.

He soon learned stupidity has no place in the world of ninjas.

Naruto shook those thoughts from his head and flipped through the seals he was accustomed to. "Kuchiyose-no-Jutsu: Yomi-no-Kitsune! Summoning Technique: Fox of the Underworld!" He slammed his hand down and created a red transmutation circle. It glowed brightly and had demonic runes on the outer rim, and the ground had begun to shake violently. A black fox rose from the ground slowly. It was all black, save for its tails, which were blood red at the tips. It had four tails and each was on fire, covered in a black flame at the tip. It had black where the whites of its eyes should be, and its pupils were blood red.

This was Yomi, a fox that resided in hell.

Naruto bowed to Yomi and took a fighting stance. Yomi wasn't truly his summon yet. He had to defeat him in battle for that. And defeating a fox who spent his life in penance on his choosing was no simple task.

Yomi flicked a fireball at Naruto, who dodged and returned with a Fuuton: Reppushou. The fox waved the attack away, but noticed Naruto was gone. He sniffed the air and turned around, hitting Naruto with a claw, leaving four slashes in his chest. Naruto burst into smoke, as he was a shadow clone, before three more clones fell from the trees they were hidden in and pinned Yomi to the ground. Yomi's eyes widened. "**That was a nice maneuver, kit**." He released a burst of fire from his body. "But it won't work on-" "Tajuu Kage Bunshin-no-Jutsu(Mass Shadow Clone Technique)!" A thousand Narutos sprang forth, rushing at Yomi. He breathed a huge breath of fire and destroyed them all, only to be tackled from the left by Naruto. Naruto held his snout closed.

_3…_

Yomi struggled, immensely, whipping Naruto around.

_2…_

He made muffled noises, shaking the blonde ninja around like a rag doll.

…_1!_

Naruto released him, jumping back. "That was three seconds, Yomi. I win!" The black fox chuckled. "Very well, Naruto." He bowed. "You may summon me whenever you wish…" He disappeared in a ball of black flame and the fire moved was snuffed out in a gust of wind. Naruto smirked. "Gotcha."

Sakura walked into the Hokage's office. "You called for me, Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade nodded. "Sakura, I would like you to join Kakashi and two other shinobi for a mission to Sunagakure. Gaara, the current Kazekage, has been captured by the Akatsuki. You, Kakash, and your team will head there immediately." Sakura's eyes widened. "My team… is he… back?" She asked, thinking of Naruto. Tsunade shook her head. "No. Here are the dossiers of the two ninja you will be going with. They are Naruto's and Sasuke's replacements." She took the papers. "No way… this Yamato person can use mokuton(wood release) and Sai is a ROOT operative?" Tsunade nodded. Sakura put the papers down. "I will inform Kakashi immediately."

"No need."

The lazy, silver-haired jounin startled her, as she spun around. "Kakashi-sensei! My skills must be slipping if you managed to sneak up on me like that." Kakashi shook his head. "No, it's just because I'm a jounin and former ANBU operative." Kakashi's only visible eye crinkled, showing her that he was smiling. Sakura smiled in return. "Let's go meet our new team, sensei." Kakashi chuckled. "No, Sakura, I'm not your sensei. We are equal shinobi on one team. We are no longer Team Seven, we are Team Kakashi." Sakura smiled sadly.

"No. Not without Naruto we aren't."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

Animaman, most definitely, Sakura's not getting off that easily!

Twinitech 2, I am actually a fan of the Black Fox. The story won't be like that very much, but Naruto will still be a bad ass. I don't want him too strong too early, but later on he takes people out with ease, except for the huge fights that will come later. Thanks for reading!

Tonello and foxsage, thank you both for reading! I tried to make the dialogue flow more easily this time around, I hope it's better now!

~ Chapter 2 ~

Itachi was never a man of complaint. He followed orders without question, which had been drilled into him as an ANBU, then served him well as an Akatsuki member. So when the leader assigned him to watch over Deidara as he infiltrated Sunagakure, he didn't complain. However, in his head were numerous voices of disappointment. The Akatsuki member Deidara was brash, loud, violent, and not very stealthy at all, the polar opposite of himself. He stuck to illusions and silently slipping through enemy numbers like a shade.

"Yo, Itachi-san!" The annoying blonde missing-nin approached him. "Are you readly to leave, hmm?"

"I was ready an hour ago, Deidara."

Deidara growled low. "Listen up! Just because I have to work with you doesn't mean you can boss me around! I will defeat that damned sharingan, hmm!" Itachi merely looked at him, the sanguine eyes of the Uchiha regarding him without emotion. Deidara just growled.

"Let's just go." Came the stoic voice.

Itachi nodded and began walking with Deidara, the two Akatsuki putting on their straw hats. They stepped out of the cave on the border of the Land of Rivers, walking toward the sand. Itachi let out a sigh.

This would be a long mission.

The hilt of the blade smashed into the face of a shinobi, wielding twin katanas. He fell amongst the large pile of bodies as the young raven-haired male turned away from the field of his victims. He sheathed his katana and spoke to the older male, known to many as Orochimaru, the Immortal, without looking at him. "Done."

"Four minutes… ten seconds faster than yesterday-"

"I don't care, none of them had the strength Itachi does. This training isn't getting me anywhere." His coal eyes met the snake man's golden ones. "I didn't expend any chakra against them, nor did they require much physical exertion. I'm not even tired. So next I want to spar with you directly, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru chuckled. "As you wish, Sasuke-kun." Without warning he opened his mouth, shooting out the Kusanagi sword at Sasuke, who easily side stepped the blade and grabbed it by its hilt. He then unsheathed his own sword and rushed at Orochimaru, swinging both swords expertly and majestically. Orochimaru slithered between the blades like the snake he is. Sasuke's sharingan may be near-perfect, but his speed wasn't at the level of Orochimaru quite yet. He knew this, and he knew that in close-quarters Orochimaru had an advantage, so he proceeded to unveil his newest jutsu. "Chidori: Nagashi." A huge burst of lightning flew from his body and paralyzed Orochimaru's movement. Sasuke wasted no time as he swung the blades, cutting Orochimaru completely through under his arms and along his waist. Orochimaru opened his mouth, but sasuke was prepared for the next move. He shot his hand out and grabbed the newly spawning Orochimaru by the throat, looking him in the eyes with his sharingan.

Orochimaru smirked. "Simple genjutsu won't work on me, Sasuke-kun."

"It already has."

Sasuke fell from the heavens, slashing downward and splitting Orochimaru in half down the middle. Snakes came from each half and pulled the man back together, but not in time for Sasuke to unleash a barrage of sword strikes on the man, each cut imbued with lighting chakra. Orochimaru was in pain, and Sasuke's chakra was running through him, preventing him from using replacement. Sasuke dashed in, prepared to make the final strike when snakes erupted from the ground, wrapping around him tightly. Orochimaru came at him with a fist ready to attack when Sasuke smirked, exploding in a huge burst of fire. _Damn! Hokage Bunshin…_ (Fire Shadow Clone) He was burned to a crisp, only for another Orochimaru to rocket out of the previous one's mouth. He looked up and was split in half by Sasuke, swinging his sword downward in a vertical arc. Snakes shot out to pull him back together, but he cut those in half as well. More snakes appeared and pulled the man back together.

"Sasuke, you are showing a bit too much killing intent than is necessary for training. If you continue, I will have to punish you most severly, making you cry out in agony and wish for death." Sasuke gave a 'hn,' and dashed at Orochimaru, who shot out his tongue at ridiculous speeds not even his sharingan could track. The tongue snatched the katana from his hands before quickly slapping him, sending him flying back. Sasuke pulled himself to his feet and glared at Orochimaru. He performed a few seals. "Hebiton: Hebi ho! Snake Release: Snake Fire!" He opened his mouth and released a purplish fireball toward Orochimaru, who jumped over it. Sasuke then directed the attack, making it fly toward the sky. Orochimaru was taken by surprise, not knowing what Sasuke was planning. He smirked and dashed at Sasuke, swinging Sasuke's kusanagi while Sasuke swung Orochimaru's. The swords clashed, releasing sparks. Sasuke pressed his weight against the blade, performing a basic samurai tactic to disarm the enemy. He quickly pressed upward, making the sword fly into the awaiting air. He then stabbed Orochimaru in the stomach with his own sword, before jumping back. The clouds had started to darken as their sword battle raged on, the combatants fluidly moving like the winds and water, viciously like the flickering flames and dancing lightning, and the attacks were solid, like the earth. The swords slashed at each other, like swift beasts, looking for an opening. The battle raged on for several more hours, Sasuke growing wearier by the second, and at this point, even Orochimaru was even showing signs of weakness. Sasuke suddenly leapt back and rose his hand. "KIRIN!" A tiny lightning bolt came down and crashed on Orochimaru. Sasuke was breathing heavily. It's underdeveloped… but it's still strong enough for Itachi to die. His eyes widened at the sound of laughter behind him. His world turned black as Orochimaru delivered a swift Judo chop to the back of his neck.

Sasuke awoke in a graveyard. He looked around. He was alone. He heard a voice.

"Outcast. Rogue. Pariah. Prodigy. I was the same as you, once."

"Who are you?" Asked the stoic young Uchiha. The voice chuckled. "I am an overseer, an ancestor. Your ancestry, Sasuke, isn't one of shinobi. It isn't even one of humans." A sheathed katana appeared before Sasuke. It was five and a half feet in length, and the blade was four and a half feet. The handle was wrapped in white and blue cloth, and the guard was gold.

"Take this as a source of new power. All I want in return is but one thing."

Sasuke was confused but his face was ever blank. "What?"

"Power. Give me more power."

Cookies to anyone who can guess the sword's name!


	4. Author's note

Author's note: For some reason Fanfic isn't adding any edits I made to the chapter. There should be lines separating the dialogue and character shifts, but they aren't showing up. I swear it's problem after problem with this site. Sorry guys if chapter three is difficult to understand…


	5. Chapter 4

To all of my reviewers:

Thank you for your reviews! I'm glad so many people like the story! I would respond to them each individually like I always do, but I'm lazy this week, so here you go, the newest installment of Joukai-chan!

P.S: The quick cameo appearance of a certain something in this story does not mean it will appear more frequently. I am only using the sword, nothing else from DMC is going to be used.

-Chapter Begin-

Sakura stood glaring at the beaten, bruised, and generally broken Sai. He was probably the most irritating man she'd ever met. Kakashi and Yamato sighed, this training exercise had gotten way out of hand, but it was entertaining to say the least. They recalled back to when Sakura first had problems with the emotion-less ROOT member.

_-Flashback-_

_Sakura and Kakashi landed on the water near Training Ground 10, a small, secluded patch of forest which was like a mini-island surrounded by a lake, near the outskirts of Konoha. Before them was a man dressed in full ANBU gear and another man, probably about Sakura's age, wearing black pants, a shirt that stopped over his mid section, and a sword on his back._

_Kakashi nodded to the ANBU member, who took off his mask. "It's been a long time, Kakashi-sempai." The man was probably a few years younger than Kakashi and had brown hair. His Konoha headband was more of a head brace, framing his face. Sakura crossed the small distance between them. She extended her arm, giving them both a smile. "I'm Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you both!"_

_Yamato shook her hand, and Sai gave her a smile. "Gigantic forehead… ugly face… Such a letdown. The one female of our group is so ugly." Kakashi sweat-dropped and Yamato looked at Sai like he was crazy. Sakura stood, head down. Is she crying? Thought Kakashi. Out of nowhere she punched Sai in the face, throwing him down into the water. "WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, FREAK!" And with that Sakura stormed off._

_-Flashback End-_

Kakashi shook his head. This was going to be a long mission.

-Scene End-

"YAMATO!"

Sasuke roared out the name of the blade of his ancestors, the bright flash of blue materializing in his hand. The light elongated and became a sheathed katana. Orochimaru turned and smirked. "What's tha-"

Sasuke swung the blade, despite being around twenty yards away from Orochimaru, and the Snake Sannin's left hand was removed at the wrist. Orochimaru was more in wonder at the range of the sword rather than the wound. How had Sasuke cut him from that far away, the blade didn't even extend! Sasuke looked up at Orochimaru, his red sharingan eyes cast in purple due to a blue light cast over them. He dashed, becoming a blur and appearing behind Orochimaru. He didn't draw the now-sheathed katana. He just chuckled. "Orochimaru, I have surpassed you in strength. You must see that." The Sannin chuckled and spun around, but Sasuke was gone.

He had disappeared, reappearing about 20 yards away from Orochimaru. He was preparing another long-distance slash when Orochimaru attacked him with extending snakes. He tied him up and slammed him several times against the ground. The sword disappeared in a puff of blue flame as Sasuke lost his conscious.

Naruto walked along with his hands behind his head, looking at Jiraiya with one eye, the other closed. The Toad Sennin walked along as well, arms crossed, not looking at him. The blonde sighed. "Alright, Jiraiya, what the hell is your problem."

"Gaki! What do you mean what's my problem? You got my caught while I was researching!"

"You mean peeping."

"Bah! Shut it, Naruto!"

Jiraiya put his hands in his wild mane of white hair. Naruto let out a small chuckle. He turned his head toward Jiraiya. "So where are we going?"

"Tanzaku."

"Why?"

"Training."

"Yeah. Right. You're just gonna peep aren't you?"

Jiraiya pointed at him, a fierce expression coating his face. "WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH, HUH GAKI?"

Naruto turned to him, also angry. "Because you blow off my training for women! If you're gonna peep do what I do and wait till I'm asleep! Oops…" He growled and looked away.

Jiraiya smirked. "Ah, Naruto, you are truly my student!'

"Oh shut up, Jiraiya."

-Chapter End-

Short one this time, next chapter will be a longer one. Sorry about this, it's really more of a filler chapter (save for Sasuke's part), expect some interactions soon!


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